scholarly journals Sociolinguistic Variation in Hong Kong Sign Language

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Wai Yan Rebecca Siu
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Sociolinguistic Variation ◽  
Lexical Variation ◽  
Signed Languages ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Hong Kong Sign Language

<p>Internal lexical variation appears to be a prominent feature within signed languages; it is perhaps a result of their distinctive acquisition patterns and fragile transmission. Recent research in different signed languages indicates that sociolinguistic variation within signed languages parallels some patterns found in spoken languages, though with some factors distinct to the former. This research examines sociolinguistic variation in a regional sign language, Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL), “spoken” by deaf people in Hong Kong. The focus of this dissertation is lexical variation and two phonological variations in the signs DEAF/HEARING, and ‘location drop’ in articulation of signs made at the forehead.  This research project is a modified replication of the earlier studies in American Sign Language, Australian Sign Language, and New Zealand Sign Language (Lucas, Bayley, & Valli, 2001; Schembri, McKee, McKee, Pivac, Johnston, & Goswell, 2009; McKee & McKee, 2011). The data of 65 participants recruited from the researcher’s networks in the HKSL community using the friend-of-a-friend method was analyzed. Three types of data were collected: free conversation, picture naming and interview. A set of 120 pictures (with/without Chinese characters) was used to elicit signs for the concepts represented. Fifty-one out of these 120 concepts were analyzed from the semantic domains of colour, kinship, number, and country/region. Results show that school attended and age of signer play a prominent role in lexical variation. A gender effect is also found in several concepts. In addition to individual lexical items, the use of compound signs, ‘citation forms’ and handedness in number signs were also examined. Various social factors including school, age, gender, education, and work environment, interact with each other to constrain the variant choices. While numbers over ten can be produced either one-handed or two-handed, signs for hundred and tens highly favour the latter.  Regarding phonological variation, conversation videos of 40 participants were annotated for the DEAF/HEARING and location drop variables. For the DEAF/HEARING variables, preliminary investigation of the movement pattern demonstrates that there may be two different types of change going on: linguistically driven (originated from compounds) and socially driven (motivated by redefining deaf identity). It also suggests that DEAF is in a further stage of development than HEARING. For the location variable, twenty tokens from each participant were coded, producing 800 tokens for multivariate analysis. Again, complex correlations between social factors are found to constrain the lowering of signs. The findings further indicate that this change has originated in the deaf school name signs due to their salience, and signers from these schools have led the change. In addition, the results in both phonological variables show that grammatical constraints play an essential role in conditioning variant choices, which parallels results of the previous studies.  In sum, the lexical analysis results affirm the crucial role of school in shaping a signer’s lexicon. The findings of the phonological variables confirm the role of grammatical function. Also, there is evidence of language change in progress in this young sign language.</p>

scholarly journals Sociolinguistic Variation in Hong Kong Sign Language

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Wai Yan Rebecca Siu
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Sociolinguistic Variation ◽  
Lexical Variation ◽  
Signed Languages ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Hong Kong Sign Language

<p>Internal lexical variation appears to be a prominent feature within signed languages; it is perhaps a result of their distinctive acquisition patterns and fragile transmission. Recent research in different signed languages indicates that sociolinguistic variation within signed languages parallels some patterns found in spoken languages, though with some factors distinct to the former. This research examines sociolinguistic variation in a regional sign language, Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL), “spoken” by deaf people in Hong Kong. The focus of this dissertation is lexical variation and two phonological variations in the signs DEAF/HEARING, and ‘location drop’ in articulation of signs made at the forehead.  This research project is a modified replication of the earlier studies in American Sign Language, Australian Sign Language, and New Zealand Sign Language (Lucas, Bayley, & Valli, 2001; Schembri, McKee, McKee, Pivac, Johnston, & Goswell, 2009; McKee & McKee, 2011). The data of 65 participants recruited from the researcher’s networks in the HKSL community using the friend-of-a-friend method was analyzed. Three types of data were collected: free conversation, picture naming and interview. A set of 120 pictures (with/without Chinese characters) was used to elicit signs for the concepts represented. Fifty-one out of these 120 concepts were analyzed from the semantic domains of colour, kinship, number, and country/region. Results show that school attended and age of signer play a prominent role in lexical variation. A gender effect is also found in several concepts. In addition to individual lexical items, the use of compound signs, ‘citation forms’ and handedness in number signs were also examined. Various social factors including school, age, gender, education, and work environment, interact with each other to constrain the variant choices. While numbers over ten can be produced either one-handed or two-handed, signs for hundred and tens highly favour the latter.  Regarding phonological variation, conversation videos of 40 participants were annotated for the DEAF/HEARING and location drop variables. For the DEAF/HEARING variables, preliminary investigation of the movement pattern demonstrates that there may be two different types of change going on: linguistically driven (originated from compounds) and socially driven (motivated by redefining deaf identity). It also suggests that DEAF is in a further stage of development than HEARING. For the location variable, twenty tokens from each participant were coded, producing 800 tokens for multivariate analysis. Again, complex correlations between social factors are found to constrain the lowering of signs. The findings further indicate that this change has originated in the deaf school name signs due to their salience, and signers from these schools have led the change. In addition, the results in both phonological variables show that grammatical constraints play an essential role in conditioning variant choices, which parallels results of the previous studies.  In sum, the lexical analysis results affirm the crucial role of school in shaping a signer’s lexicon. The findings of the phonological variables confirm the role of grammatical function. Also, there is evidence of language change in progress in this young sign language.</p>

Location variation in Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL)

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wai Yan Rebecca Siu
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Work Environment ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Sociolinguistic Variation ◽  
Citation Form ◽  
Hong Kong Sign Language ◽  
New Zealand Sign Language

Abstract This paper presents results from a study of sociolinguistic variation in Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL). Specifically, it reports findings about location variation in a class of signs like know that are produced at/above the signer’s forehead in their citation form, but are sometimes articulated at a lower location in everyday conversation. Eight hundred tokens of target signs from 40 signers were analyzed. As also found in studies of location ‘dropping’ in similar signs in American Sign Language, Australian Sign Language, and New Zealand Sign Language, variation in HKSL correlates with linguistic and social factors in a systematic way (Lucas, Bayley, & Valli, 2001; Schembri, McKee, McKee, Pivac, Johnston, & Goswell, 2009). A comparison of findings across these four languages is presented and discussed. The results of the present study suggest that a set of forehead-located signs that express the names of deaf schools may have affected results due to their salience. The work environment (i.e., sign language related work roles) of participants may also affect ‘careful’ versus lowered production of forehead signs.

scholarly journals An experimental study of the role of social factors in language change: The case of loanword adaptations

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiri Lev-Ari ◽  
Sharon Peperkamp
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Sound Change ◽  
Experimental Setting ◽  
Experimental Paradigm ◽  
Semantic Domain ◽  
The Creation

AbstractThere is great variation in whether foreign sounds in loanwords are adapted or retained. Importantly, the retention of foreign sounds can lead to a sound change in the language. We propose that social factors influence the likelihood of loanword sound adaptation, and use this case to introduce a novel experimental paradigm for studying language change that captures the role of social factors. Specifically, we show that the relative prestige of the donor language in the loanword’s semantic domain influences the rate of sound adaptation. We further show that speakers adapt to the performance of their ‘community', and that this adaptation leads to the creation of a norm. The results of this study are thus the first to show an effect of social factors on loanword sound adaptation in an experimental setting. Moreover, they open up a new domain of experimentally studying language change in a manner that integrates social factors.

Historical Development of Hong Kong Sign Language

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Sze ◽  
Connie Lo ◽  
Lisa Lo ◽  
Kenny Chu
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Hong Kong Sign Language

Gesture and language

Gesture ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherman Wilcox
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Signed Languages ◽  
Signed Language ◽  
Grammatical Morphemes ◽  
Linguistic System ◽  
Region I ◽  
Using Data

In this paper I explore the role of gesture in the development of signed languages. Using data from American Sign Language, Catalan Sign Language, French Sign Language, and Italian Sign Language, as well as historical sources describing gesture in the Mediterranean region, I demonstrate that gesture enters the linguistic system via two distinct routes. In one, gesture serves as a source of lexical and grammatical morphemes in signed languages. In the second, elements become directly incorporated into signed language morphology, bypassing the lexical stage. Finally, I propose a unifying framework for understanding the gesture-language interface in signed and spoken languages.

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